Monday Cranes

Another of the stepped-off-the-bus-damn-no-glasses Blips but you take what you can get on a Monday.

And I got a day at work, where I achieved some things.  I even attempted to develop an idea that I had all by myself - and here's the schocker. It worked.  It needs tidying up but I think I has the potential to save my company a pile of money.  

But the absolute Bonus about today was that I had the office to myself.  Instead of 5 other people in there, I was alone.   I love the silence.

Feeling pretty good for a Monday and then I got home.

Go get a cup of tea, this may be a very ranty rant even by my standards.

So I get home and I get to hear G's Tale Of German Efficiency In Action.

Her Mother was due to be transferred from the care home into the rehabilitation clinic today.

There was a bit of hassle yesterday when G got a call saying that the paperwork for the transport hadn't come through.  This was supposed to be organised by her GP.  I think the GP had submitted the paperwork - because he's a really good GP - I suspect that the problem lies with the weaker links in this chain.

Anyway - G gets the message from the transport company that her mum will be picked up Monday morning at 9 and they will wait until G is there to make sure that everything is done by the book, and because G has to sign various forms for the best transport company in the world.

G's a bit sceptical about the time.  The firm that has been involved before has always turned up an hour late, which was obviously somebody else's fault.

But G gets up early this morning and gets to the Care Home just before 9.  Her mum is not there.  The transport company came at 8:30 and picked her mum up and were gone.  They hadn't taken any of G's mum's stuff - not the suitcase, nothing.

So G jumps in the car and heads off to the rehabilitation clinic.  She gets there but there's no sign of her mum.  She was never brought to the ward where she'll be staying.

Her mobile rings.  It's the care home, the transport company have brought G's mum back and left her at the care home and have offgebuggered.

So G goes back to the care home, finds her mum sitting in the coffee shop with a glass of water (G's mum has no money).

G is now ready to throttle someone.  So she phones the transport company who basically just lie to her.  Her mum was taken to the x-ray department of the clinic as agreed but the x-ray clinic had no appointment for her and because G wasn't there, the transport guys just took her mum back to the care home and left her.

G pointed out that her mum was meant to be going to the geriartric ward and there was nothing mentioned anywhere about an effing x-ray.  So if the transport company wouldn't mind sending the same team back perhaps G can figure out from them what was on their paperwork and find out why they didn't wait for G.

An hour later 2 guys roll up.  That's another hour of waiting for people to do thing they should have done properly 3 hours ago.  G looks at the paperwork - her mum's name and the clinic name are all the information on their paperwork.  Nothing else.  

So why the x-ray department? asks G.  Mumble, mumble says bloke one.  Bloke 2 looks like he understands nothing.

Ok says G.  Her mum has to be delivered to the geriatric ward and this is the address - do they understand? Yes, says der Mumbler.  

So they all set off together.  G pulls into the car park of the building where her mum needs to go and watches as the crack team from Medimobil prove their worth again by driving past the building and off down the road with G's mum still in the transport. 

G heads off down to the other building to find der Mumbler und the useless one with G's mum in reception.  G tells them both, politely, to eff the eff off.  And by herself takes her mum to the right ward in the right building and fills in all the paperwork and gets her mum settled.

And then G asks when the doctor will be coming to see her mum.  "Oh some time this afternoon.  But definitely this afternoon."  Ahh thank you for all your help because G has absolutely nothing better to do.

Oh and another phone to Medimobil to ask what the eff they think they were doing turned into Medimobil blaming some anonymous person who isn't there at the moment.

You can bet that the Medimobil bill will already be in the post, undoubtedly for 2 journeys because there were 2 journeys and not the one as agreed...

German Customer Service & German Efficiency in spectacular action.

Ask yourself what would have happened if G's mum had no family.  Who would have sorted any of this out?  And do you think it's going to get better?

But look, the rant's over and there are cranes way up at the top of this.